The Merle Haggard 2009 Tour at Mondavi Center in Davis Delighted Fans

In keeping with my husband's concert-going theme, which seems to be "go see 'em before they croak," we went to see Merle Haggard perform last night at the Mondavi Center for Performing Arts in Davis, California. This time we finagled seats in the 6th row, center stage. Since I've never sat that close to the stage in Jackson Hall before, I didn't know that this row of seats was designed like the emergency exit rows on planes. It has extra leg room, which was a far cry from being stuck in Row U.

Some people may wonder why I am care about seating arrangements, but I'm telling you, it's the little things in life that matter. Big things are often easy to handle such as getting a ticket to the show. It's the little things that can make the journey pleasant or unpleasant.

Noel Haggard, Merle's son opened the show, but it didn't seem like his heart was in it. He just did his thing and left the stage. He was followed by these two guys in pompadours, the Malpass Brothers. This duo was pretty good -- lots of energy and enthusiasm -- and they looked just like a throwback to 1952.

After a brief intermission to sell CDs, Merle Haggard hit the stage. I sort of expected him to appear in a freshly tailored suit jacket like you see him wear in his publicity photos, but he walked on stage, moving carefully and slowly for a man of 72 who beat cancer, wearing a beat-up old jacket with fringe on the sleeves. He played like he's probably performed hundreds of thousands of times before, like a professional, never missing a beat, but it was lacking passion. His band of country legends, however, were solid and tight.

I found out 3 things, though, that I did not know by going to the show last night. The first is The Flying Burrito Brothers did not write White Line Fever. It was Merle. The second is I now know why Merle Haggard wrote Okie from Muskogee, "Because I was the only one that knew the words." That, and it had to be written, he said. And even without teeth, that saxophone player could play a mean horn.